Brake-shoe.



PATENT JAMES R. CARDWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BRAKE-SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 668,624, dated February 28, 1901.

A Application tiled July 13, 1900. Serial. No. 23,460. (No model.)

.To all whom it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, JAMES R. CARDWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, Cook county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and Improved Brake-Shoe, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to the provision of a brake-shoe having a strengthening-plate in the back thereof, with the ends of the same bent inward toward the point of the shoe, forming both a support for the end of the cast portion of the shoe and also a secure connection between the cast portion of the shoe and the plate, the securing of the last-mentioned object being aided by so constructingv the bent portions as to cause them to form a dovetailconnection between the cast metal and the strengthening-plate.

Another object of my invention is the construction of a brake-shoe with a strengthening-plate having the middle portion of the edges of the plate bent inward toward the face of the shoe, so as not only to leave room for a strong stable connection between the lug and the body of the shoe by permitting the metal to flow around each side of the plate where the edge portions are bent inward, but also to insure at this point a stable connection between the plate and the body of the shoe, the attainment of the last-mentioned object in this instance also being aided by the formation of the inwardly-bent portions of vthe edge of the plate in Vsuch a way asto cause them to make a dovetail connection with the metal of the body of the shoe.

In order that my improvements may be' better understood, I will now proceed to describe them in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which I have illustrated them in preferred form, and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoe embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a back view of the shoe. Fig. 4 is a view of the strengthening-plate alone before any of the parts thereof are bent for insertion in the shoe. Fig. 5 is a perspective'view ofthe plate slotted ready to be bent. Fig. 6 shows the plate with the portions bent ready for insertion in the shoe. Fig. 7 is a modified form of construction, showing a slight change in the arrangement of the end parts of the plate; and Fig. 8 represents a shoe worn in a manner common to shoes of the prior art-viz., having one end much thinner than the other end-that is, being of a shape somewhat resembling a wedge.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 4, 5, and 6, it will be seen that in the construction of a shoe in accordance with my invention I first provide a strengthening-plate l,

which may be of any suitable material, such as sheet-steel or wrought-iron, and which plate is formed with slots 2 at the ends thereof, forming projecting tongues 3, and slots 4 near the middle portion, forming edge parts 5, the tongues 3 and the edge parts 5 being adapted to be bent inwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The plate after being brought to the condition shown in Fig. 6 is then placed in the mold and the shoe cast upon and around it, forming the structure shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, in which, as will be clearly seen on eX- amination of. said figures, the projecting tongues 3 are bent inward toward the point of the shoe and form a stable support for the shoe end, as well as making a'secure connection between the metal of the body of the shoe and the plate, not only by reason of the embedding of the plate in the cast metal, but also because of the fact that the tongue 3 is formed of a wedge or tapered shape and makes, therefore, a dovetail connection with the metal of the body of the shoe.4 The edge portions 5 also form dovetail connection with the body of the shoe, as clearly shown in Figs. l and 2, and furthermore are made additionally secure by being bent inwardly past the right-angled position, as shown in Fig. 2. The inward bending of the edge portions 5 leaves room for the metal forming the lug 6 to flow around the plate at the point 7 and make a stable connection between the lug and the body of the shoe.

While I prefer the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, because lche inward bending of a tongue upon the middle of the end of The plate leaves a forked projection of the plate to extend upon the sides of the restlug 8 (shown in Figs. 2 and 3) and gives ample opportunity for the metal to liow between the body of the shoe and such lug, in the formation of the latter it is also possible to ICO form my plate with the forked port-ions 9 of the end bent inwardly and the central portion 10 extending in the plane of the plate or cut away, as preferred. Such a modified form of construction I have indicated in Fig. 7.

From the above it may now be seen that not only do I secure by the improvements described a stable connection between the body of the shoe and the strengthening-plate, both at the ends and the middle thereof, but I also secure a better support for the ends or points of the shoe than has been attained by prior constructions with which I am familiar. By the practice of my invention when it is desirable to harden the ends of the shoe more than the intermediate portions, as is sometimes the case, this can be done without rendering the ends liable to breakage, because the novel formation of my plate provides adequate support to the metal of the body of the shoe. On account of the uneven way in which brake-beams are hung it is common for brake-shoes to become Worn, as shown in Fig. S, so as to be practically a wedge shape, one end being much thinner than the other. The hardening of the shoe upon the ends reduces the tendency in this direction, and the provisions of my improvement hereinabove described render a shoe with hardened ends more practicable than it has been heretofore, besides also in itself aiding to resist the tendency of the shoe to wear more rapidly at either of the ends.

Having thus described my invention, what I consider as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A brake-shoe having a strengtheningplate with the ends thereof bentinward whereby to form a support for the point of the shoe, substantially as described.

2. A brake-shoe having a strengtheningplate with the ends thereof formed with dovetail connection to the metal of the body of the shoe, substantially as described.

3. A brake-shoe having a strengtheningplate the edges whereof are bent inward toward the face of the shoe and form a dovetail connection with the metal of the body ot' the shoe, substantially as described.

et. A brake-shoe having a strengtheningplate the middle portion of the edge of which is bent inward toward the face of the shoe whereby to form a secure connection between the strengthening-plate and the metal of the body of the shoe, substantially as described.

5. A brake-shoe having a plate therein, the middle portions of the edge ofthe plate forming a dovetail connection with the metal of the body of the shoe, substantially as described.

6. A brake-shoe having a plate the middle portions of the edge of which are bent inward toward the face of the shoe and secured to the body of the shoe by dovetail connection, substantially as described.

7. A brake-shoe having a strengtheningplate the ends whereof are bentinward toward the point of the shoe and the middle portions of the edge whereof are turned inward toward the face of the shoe, substantially as described.

JAMES R. CARDWELL. Witnesses:

PAUL CARPENTER, IEVIN H. JONES. 

